After
twenty-five years of writing and submitting around a marriage, kids,
and a day job, I made my first sale in May of 2012. I’ve since turned in
a dozen Harlequin Presents (Mills & Boon Modern) titles, published a
pair of erotic romances with HarlequinE, released four small town
rancher romances with Tule’s Montana Born, and put out a medieval
fantasy romance with Champagne Books. I also have two indie projects,
one of which is a free giveaway if you join my newsletter here
(http://danicollins.com/free-book/). I like to say I write anything, so
long as it’s romance. I quit my day job over a year ago, I’m still
married and we’re almost empty-nesters. I live in a very small town in
BC Canada which is a perfect place for an author to live—no
distractions!

Influences-

My
earliest influences were Robyn Donald, Linda Howard and Elizabeth
Lowell. I adored their sexual tension and emotional angst. I also loved
the more complex characters and romantic conflicts in Victoria Leigh’s
Loveswepts and India Grey’s Harlequin Presents. If I could write with
the depth of Laura Kinsale, I’d be in heaven!

How I write-

I
write at my desk in my attic office. It has a slanted ceiling and gets
disgustingly hot in the summer, but is quite cosy in winter. I love
writing while snow is falling outside!

My desk is often messy, but don’t you DARE touch a thing upon it. I know where everything is and it’s all vitally important!

When
starting a new project, I typically write a proposal that includes a
synopsis and opening chapters so my editor can keep me from going too
far down any wrong roads. Once I’m writing, however, I rarely glance
back at the synopsis. I research as I go (thank you internet!) I also
revise as I go so it’s often a two pages forward, one back process. On
the plus side, I don’t usually have huge revisions on the structure once
the manuscript is complete, just a couple of rounds to clarify
motivation or bring out character development, that kind of thing.

I
sit at my desk every day, but since I juggle different publishers and
have something new coming out every couple of months, I wind up juggling
a lot of different tasks every day. I might take a break from writing
to do art fact sheets or schedule promotion or write a blog post (hi!)
etc. Every month or two, I clean the white board then write out all my
deadlines and releases, figure out where I am and where I’m going.
Writing as a career is a lot more than just writing, but I can’t believe
I’m lucky enough to have this job!

Motivation-

I’ve
always had stories in my head. The best way to kick them out is to put
them on paper. I LOVE writing romance because they always end happily
and I never tire of exploring how men and women develop life-long bonds.
The world is a rough place and I have found comfort in romance novels
at different times of my own life. I love being able to send out that
same message of hope and cope to other women. Honestly, if I hadn’t read
about so many heroines prevailing through hardship, I wouldn’t have had
the guts to persevere with writing after that many years of rejection!
But they hung in there so I did and here I am! I hope some of you take
heart from that.

Your Book-

Revenge never tasted so sweet…

Calm
and controlled Melodie Parnell has always wanted to experience
insatiable passion. She thinks she's found it in the bed of sinfully
attractive Roman Killian. But in the sultry aftermath of their
lovemaking, Melodie is catapulted back to reality when Roman reveals his
true plans…to ruin her!

Satisfying
the longing in Melodie's entrancing blue eyes was a glitch in Roman's
plan. Convinced she'd been sent by his enemy, he intended to simply
punish her! Except it seems that Melodie was innocent, and now Roman's
plan takes a different turn… Could his vows of revenge become vows of
marriage?

Hi Nas! Hi Dani! Dani, I loved reading about your writing life and I admire your dedication writing every day. I do wish I had an attic where I could hide and write without too many interruptions. A good goal.

Holy moley, Dani. Once you got that first book published, you didn't waste any time, did ya? That's a LOT of books you've written in such a short time. Sounds to me like you're living the dream, girl. May it last a long long time.